Classic Reunions…Jane’s Addiction

***Part three of a five-part series I am doing this week on Classic Reunions. Each day I will add a new photo of a featured artist and that band’s classic reunion.
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Jane’s Addiction had their first major break up in 1991, right after their final famous Honolulu gig in which Perry Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins played a couple of tunes butt naked. Sadly, they were at the height of their game in terms of recognition and creative energy. Farrell formed Porno for Pyros while Dave Navarro joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers, replacing John Frusciante who was let go for drug use. Neither RHCP with Navarro or Porno for Pyros were able to generate the raw energy of their original incarnations. In 1997 Jane’s Addiction announced the Relapse Tour, but bassist Eric Avery refused to join, and was replaced by the Chili Peppers’ Flea. Though Flea is a kick-ass player, there was a raw, dirty and dangerous punk rock edge to Avery and Jane’s never felt quite the same without him. They had also developed a flashier and more flamboyant style, and it seemed that wearing expensive designer clothing outweighed the importance of the music. Again, the music still rocked, but the dangerous edge that was synonymous with Jane’s Addiction – that sense that anything could happen at any minute – was gone.